Organ on a Chip Technology: Standard Manufacturing Materials and Methods and Next Generation Platforms with Integrated Sensors

Description:
Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) platforms are emerging as a key technology for testing new drugs during the in vitro preclinical stage of the drug development process. The knowledge gained from manufacturing and the integration of sensors in microfluidic systems is now being transferred to the fabrication of OoC platforms. These principles are also being increasingly used in the development of international standards for OoC and will soon be available for all interested parties to use.

With the introduction of additive manufacturing, and the addition of more affordable hot embossing equipment and other instrumentation to the OoC fabrication toolbox, the manufacturing of devices compatible with large scale methods has greatly increased. Industrial approaches to selecting materials and methods for reproducibly assembling devices and integrating sensing capabilities can be applied and should be considered not only in industry settings but also in academia. Since academic research in OoC has the potential to foster commercial activity, it should consider similar materials and methods for the fabrication and integration of components from the beginning of the research cycle. In this workshop, attendees will learn about the standard materials and methods used to fabricate, assemble, and integrate components, including sensors, into OoC platforms. This knowledge will inform their decisions at the early stages of research, enhancing the possibilities of a better translation from prototyping to small and large production stages.

Objectives:
Anyone involved in microfluidics research related to bio-applications and the development of Organ on a Chip platforms should attend this workshop.